ARH 2000 Chapter Notes - Chapter 19: Minaret, Lusterware, Mihrab
1 Mar 2020
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Document Summary
Arab lands - when islam first began to spread, rulers built houses of worship in their area. Early rulers often adopted abandoned buildings and converted them into mosques. The word mosque is based off of the arabic word masjid, place of prostration. Typical mosques are big enough to accommodate all worshippers for friday prayers in which they hear a sermon, pray, & bow down toward mecca. Most include minarets, towers which mark the building"s location and are used by chanters who ascend and pray five times daily. An early mosque that still stands, mostly resembling its original form, is the great. It has an open courtyard surrounded by porches, with a minaret over the main entrance in the center of one side. The deeper covered area on the opposite side of the minarets cover the mihrab, a niche in the end wall that points the way to mecca.
